The present invention relates to novel light duty liquid detergent compositions with high foaming properties, containing two glucoside surfactants, an anionic surfactant, two zwitterionic betaine surfactants, triethylene glycolmono-undecyl ether or a hydrophobic nonionic surfactant and the balance being water.
Nonionic surfactants are in general chemically inert and stable toward pH change and are therefore well suited for mixing and formulation with other materials. The superior performance of nonionic surfactants on the removal of oily soil is well recognized. Nonionic surfactants are also known to be mild to human skin. However, as a class, nonionic surfactants are known to be low or moderate foamers. Consequently, for detergents which require copious and stable foam, the use of nonionic surfactants is limited. There have been substantial interest and efforts to develop a high foaming detergent with nonionic surfactants as the major ingredient. Little has been achieved.
The prior art is replete with light duty liquid detergent compositions containing nonionic surfactants in combination with anionic and/or betaine surfactants wherein the nonionic detergent is not the major active surfactant, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,985 wherein an anionic based shampoo contains a minor amount of a fatty acid alkanolamide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,398 discloses a betaine-based shampoo containing minor amounts of nonionic surfactants. This patent states that the low foaming properties of nonionic detergents renders its use in shampoo compositions to be non-preferred. U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,335 also discloses a shampoo containing a betaine surfactant as the major ingredient and minor amounts of a nonionic surfactant and of a fatty acid mono- or di-ethanolamide. U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,204 discloses a shampoo comprising 0.8-20% by weight of an anionic phosphoric acid ester and one additional surfactant which may be either an anionic, amphoteric, or nonionic surfactant. U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,334 discloses an anionic-amphoteric based shampoo containing a major amount of anionic surfactant and lesser amounts of betaine and nonionic surfactants.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,129 ;discloses a liquid cleaning composition containing an alkali metal silicate, urea, glycerin, triethanolamine, an anionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant. The alkali metal silicate content determines the amount of anionic and/or nonionic detergent in the liquid cleaning composition. However, the foaming property of these detergent compositions is not discussed therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,515 discloses a heavy duty liquid composition for laundering fabrics comprising a mixture of substantially equal amounts of anionic and nonionic surfactants, alkanolamines and magnesium salts, and, optionally, zwitterionic surfactants as suds modifiers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,195 discloses an aqueous detergent composition for laundering socks or stockings comprising a specific group of nonionic surfactants, namely, an ethylene oxide of a secondary alcohol, a specific group of anionic surfactants, namely, a sulfuric ester salt of an ethylene oxide adduct of a secondary alcohol, and an amphoteric surfactant which may be a betaine, wherein either the anionic or nonionic surfactant may be the major ingredient.
The prior art also discloses; detergent compositions containing all nonionic surfactants as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,154,706 and 4,329,336 wherein the shampoo compositions contain a plurality of particular nonionic surfactants in order to achieve desirable; foaming and detersive properties despite the fact that nonionic surfactants are usually deficient in such properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,787 discloses the use of a piperazine based polymer in conditioning and shampoo compositions which may contain all nonionic surfactant or all anionic surfactant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,091 discloses high viscosity shampoo compositions containing a blend of an amphoteric betaine surfactant, a polyoxybutylenepolyoxyethylene nonionic surfactant, an anionic surfactant, a fatty acid alkanolamide and a polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty ester.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,526 describes a composition comprising a nonionic surfactant, a betaine surfactant, an anionic surfactant and a C.sub.12 -C.sub.14 fatty acid monoethanolamide foam stabilizer.
However, none of the above-cited patents discloses a high foaming, light duty liquid detergent composition containing a triethylene glycol mono-undecyl ether, an ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfate anionic surfactant, two glucoside surfactants and two supplementary foaming betaine surfactants, wherein the composition does not contain any amine oxides, calcium carbonates, polymeric or clay thickeners, abrasives, clays, silicas, alkylglycine surfactants, sulfonate surfactants, alkyl sulfate surfactants, cyclic imidinium surfactants, or more than 3.0 wt. % of fatty acids or metal salts of a fatty acid.